Back From The Mouth of Hell
by Ladyamesindy
Summary: Eden Prime. Time would only tell, but Lieutenant Commander Sian Shepard had a sense that this was all a part of something much larger. That one day she'd look back and realize it was just the beginning. That they'd ventured into the mouth of hell and survived to tell the tale.


**_Eden Prime. Time would only tell, but Lieutenant Commander Sian Shepard had a sense that this was all a part of something much larger. That one day she'd look back and realize it was just the beginning. That they'd ventured into the mouth of hell and survived to tell the tale. (Part of the Commander Sian Shepard series.)_**

* * *

_While horse and hero fell,_

_They that had fought so well_

_Came thro' the jaws of Death_

_Back from the mouth of Hell_

_Alfred, Lord Tennyson "The Charge of the Light Brigade"_

* * *

_2183, Eden Prime_

"There was nothing you could do, Commander," the Lieutenant assured her. "It was just … bad luck."

Sian Shepard sighed and stood up, turning to face her companion. "I don't like losing people under my command, Lieutenant," she told him firmly. Another sigh, a slight easing of her stance. It also wasn't fair to take it out on him. "We'll make sure he gets a proper memorial later."

"Yes, ma'am."

Checking her shotgun to be sure it was reloaded, Sian turned. "Right then. We still have a mission to complete. Let's go."

"On your six, ma'am."

On the move once again, Sian led Alenko in the direction of their destination. The last time Nihlus had checked in, he'd been headed into the colony proper to check something out. What exactly that 'something' was, he hadn't said. Sian had tried twice since the attack that had killed Jenkins to reach the turian spectre, to warn him about the drones that had attacked, but he hadn't responded. That told her that he was either in a position that could be compromised if he did so, or that for some reason, he wasn't receiving her communication. Given the surprise nature of the attack, Sian could believe either of the scenarios was as likely as the other.

They continued over the rise of the next hill and, not surprisingly, were set upon by more of the drones that had attacked them earlier. Between herself and Alenko, another sentinel class like herself, they dispatched the things quickly using both weapons and biotics before moving further ahead. Still, the lack of a physical response or presence by anyone - Alliance military or civilian colonist - had Sian concerned. The memories of the video footage that she, Nihlus and Captain Anderson had witnessed aboard ship had been very … vivid. _Where is everyone?_

A hand at her arm and Alenko's voice caught her attention. "Up there, ma'am," he announced quietly, his other hand pointing his gun ahead of them. "Someone's coming."

Sian nodded and moved forward, dropping for cover behind a large boulder. Alenko followed, scrambling into position beside her. Moving to the outer edge, Sian dared a peek around the corner. Her breath caught at what she saw. One, lone Alliance soldier (who else would wear that white and pink armor?) was running for her life away from two … "Bloody hell!" Sian muttered in partial disbelief. "Are those ... geth?"

"The geth haven't been seen outside the Veil in over 200 years!" the Lieutenant exclaimed.

Sian didn't care how long it had been, only that what looked an awful lot like the pictures of geth from her grade school books appeared to be running down an Alliance soldier in the field. Quickly, Sian began gathering the dark energy required to pull off a biotic move of some strength. If the geth were behind this, there was no way in hell she was going to allow them to get another soldier, whether under her command or not!

But before she could release the throw, Sian saw the soldier stumble, falling hard to the ground. Rising, Sian pulled back her arm, preparing to engage the enemy, but the soldier moved more quickly. Rolling to her side, she pulled a pistol out in front of her and fired at practically point blank range. First one target went down, then the other. Both went down hard … and permanently. Moving quickly, Sian scrambled around the boulder and hurried towards the fallen soldier. Alenko followed close behind. "Are you alright?" he called out as they approached.

The soldier began sputtering out a string of curses as she pushed herself to her feet. Startled, Sian gasped softly, subconscious recognition that had been triggered while watching the video aboard ship finally finding purchase with the familiar tirade she was hearing now. A smirk settling on her lips, Sian bit back a chuckle as the soldier responded, "Yeah, I'm good. Lousy, no good …."

"Chief," Sian broke into the preparations for another string of cursing with the ease of someone used to it, "does your mother know you swear worse than any sailor in Alliance held territory?"

Body freezing momentarily, it soon spun around to face Sian directly. That was when Sian knew. For certain. She could see familiar whiskey colored eyes widening in shock through the visor. "Sian?"

Grinning, Sian nodded. She lifted a hand, reaching out and grasping the nearest shoulder and clapping it soundly. "Ashley. Good to see you in one piece."

"I … yeah. You too. How …?"

Sian sighed. "Long story. We got your distress call, though, as we were coming in. We were sent here to pick up the Prothean beacon that was found. Any idea where it is now?"

It took Ash a moment to pull herself from the shock of everything over the past twenty-four hours. "Uh … yeah. The site's down that way," she pointed in the direction they had originally been headed.

Sian tilted her head a little bit at Ash. "Got a grip, soldier?" she asked, her tone only slightly chiding. Just enough to shake Ash free of the rest of the shock.

Ashley straightened suddenly, coming to full attention. "Yes, ma'am!"

Sian nodded once. "Good. Lead on then."

And she did. They encountered a few more geth along the way, a fact which led Sian to quiz Ashley about their presence. However, the Chief had nothing additional to add to what Sian and Alenko already knew … which was next to nothing. Upon arriving at the dig site, they found the beacon gone. Nihlus chose that time to link up as well, indicating he was moving off to an unspecified area and that he'd meet up with Sian's team there.

They continued on. Eventually, they arrived at the transport station leading to the spaceport, the destination some farmers they'd found hiding in one of the pre-fab buildings had indicated was the likely destination of both the beacon and the geth. Sadly, it also appeared to have been Nihlus' final destination. Sian knelt beside the turian, reaching out to check for a pulse, but it was pretty clear the spectre was dead. Another tip had the three heading down towards the train that would take them to the spaceport. More geth stood between them and the train, but after a somewhat ferocious firefight, a few scratches and near misses, they made it to the transport. As Sian finally got the vehicle moving, she could hear the other two finally officially introducing themselves.

"You know the Commander?" Alenko asked at one point.

There was a pause before Ashley responded, but when she did, Sian heard the smirk in her tone. "Yeah, you could say that."

Their arrival at the spaceport did not go unnoticed they found out a few minutes later as, the moment they stepped off the train they immediately came under fire. That was also when Sian noticed the bomb near the platform. "Want me to take care of it, Commander?" Alenko asked, offering up his tech skills for the mission.

"Just keep me covered," Sian replied. "I think I can handle this one." And she did. She also realized in the process that this was probably not the _only_ one in the vicinity. So the hunt began. With Ash and Alenko covering her, they made their way through the area, and by the time they were satisfied they had cleared it all, a total of four bombs had been defused.

"You always did like living a bit on the wild side of things," Ash quipped to Sian as they descended to the landing platform.

"What can I say?" Sian countered easily. "You rubbed off on me."

"Hah! Don't you even _dare_ suggest that I am in any way responsible for your actions!"

They found the beacon at last. Sian contacted the _Normandy_, informing them of the fact and calling them in for a pick-up before turning to speak to Ash a bit more about what had happened on the colony. But, as she lifted her gaze to glance at the Prothean device once again, she felt her heart take a sideways lurch in her chest. Pushing Ash out of the way, she darted around and hurried to Alenko's side. Whatever this beacon was, whatever its purpose, at the moment it was pulling the Lieutenant into some sort of energy field. Grabbing him around his waist with both arms and using all of her strength, she struggled to break him free of whatever pull the device had on him. She'd be damned if she was going to lose another soldier today. Especially now that the mission was over!

What she hadn't calculated on was the beacon pulling _her_ into its grasp, refusing to let her free. Sian fought it as best she could, every effort of will she could draw from going into the fight, but she knew she'd lost the battle the instant before she was lifted off the ground and saw the 'vision.' Somewhere behind her, she heard Alenko's voice calling out her name, as well. In the visual deluge that followed, she could only grasp pieces and parts, her mind struggling beneath the onslaught and holding on as best she could. In the heartbeat before the beacon released her, Sian felt the world around her blacken. She never felt her body hitting the ground.

Ash couldn't stop pacing. Alenko had been inside the medbay for ages now. What was supposed to have been a 'quick' check on the Commander had ended up a multi-hour bedside vigil, it seemed. Frustrating as all getout, but then, Ash could understand why. She knew Sian well enough to understand the draw she had for her officers and the enlisted personnel serving for her. By all accounts, Sian was an exceptional commanding officer.

Which turned Ash's thoughts for just a moment. Shortly after the team's return to the _Normandy_, Captain Anderson had pulled her aside, debriefed her on what had happened on Eden Prime, and then asked if she wanted to join the crew. Ash had been … astounded, to say the least. However, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she'd snapped up the offer on the spot without hesitation. How long had she been trying to get a shipboard assignment? Too damned long. And that had been with the somewhat secret support of Sian, too. Wouldn't she be tickled to find out that Ash's first experience would be with Sian as her Commander?

That was assuming that Sian was okay, of course. That thought had Ash chewing on her lower lip again. A few hours before, she had tried to stick her head into the med bay (that's when she realized that Alenko was pulling bedside vigil), but Dr. Chakwas had simply chased her off with a calm, "The Commander will be fine in due time, Gunnery Chief." Ash was considering trying again, though she had doubts about whether she'd be able to make it in past the doc again, when she heard the Captain walk up beside her. "Chief," he greeted her.

Ash snapped to attention. "Sir."

The man chuckled. Though he had his moments as a hardass (his debrief had been an experience … he'd wanted answers to questions Ash couldn't even begin to answer), Ash found she kind of liked him. "At ease, Chief," he told her. "Dr. Chakwas messaged me that the Commander has regained consciousness. We'll be at the Citadel soon. Why don't you go relax before you're pulled into all the political nonsense that's bound to be tied up with this mission?"

Ash opened her mouth to speak, but soon found herself closing it again. What was there to say? "Yeah. Okay. Thank you, sir," she managed as he entered the med bay and she was left with the only option to go sit in the mess or find some quiet corner somewhere.

A short while later, Ash looked up as Alenko took a seat beside her at the table. Straightening (he was a superior officer, after all), she asked, "How's the Commander?"

She watched as he shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Doc says she will be fine. Something about REM cycles while she was out, but the Commander thinks it was more than just a dream. A 'vision,' she called it. From the look on her face, I gather it wasn't a pleasant one."

"Hmm." Ash glanced down at her hands which were laying on the table in front of her. "Not surprising, I guess," she added after a moment.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Ash sighed. "Do you know Sian's … I mean, the Commander's background?" she asked.

She turned to face him, saw him frown a little, but ultimately he nodded. "Grew up on Mindoir, escaped the batarian slaver attack. Survived a thresher maw attack on Akuze."

Ash nodded. "Let me tell you, she's seen and lived through more than most people ever do in a lifetime. _Two_ lifetimes," she added.

"So … you know the Commander?" Alenko then asked, cocking his head to the side as he watched and waited on her reply to the same question he'd asked her back on Eden Prime.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, you could say that," she murmured, same response as before. It was her standard answer to that question. But really, what else was there to say? If she was being honest about it all, Ash wasn't quite sure how much she should say about the past she shared with Sian. It was _her_ story to tell, not Ash's. But then again, it seemed as if the three of them would be working together for a while. And, wouldn't it be better to get the truth out now instead of letting scuttlebutt toss it around the ship for a while, filling it up with inaccuracies and half-truths?

"It's okay, Williams," Alenko's voice broke in. "I won't ask you to break any confidences."

Ash snorted softly. Sian hadn't asked her to make any, not really. But there was something about her, something that Ash had instinctively felt the need to … protect. She'd known it that day they'd met all those years ago. Time, distance, separation … none of that had changed any of it either. "Thanks, LT," Ash finally told him before rising to her feet. "That's really her call to make, anyway." She glanced around the area. "Guess I'll just … go settle in."

Alenko chuckled. "You do that," he advised. "Sounds like we might have our hands full once we arrive at the Citadel."

Turning back for a moment, Ash gave him a hard look. "Oh?"

He, too, rose, turning to leave while calling over his shoulder, "Politics, Chief. Intergalactic politics."

Ash rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, an old familiar saying of her father's coming to mind. "_Out of the frying pan and into the fire." This is what you wanted, Maddie, m'dear._ Sighing, Ash went below to stow her gear. How could she argue with the truth?

It was Alenko who alerted Sian to Ashley's whereabouts, and the moment she'd finished speaking with him, she took off in search of the Chief.

How long had it been since they'd last seen each other? Sian wondered. Since Ashley's father's funeral, Sian supposed. She'd attended, in full dress uniform, straight out of N7 training, no less. There had been a specific reason for that, though she doubted many had noticed. For, despite the family history, the nature of their past military decisions, Sian felt she'd owed it to the man who had taken her in, given her a port in the storm that had become her life at age sixteen, and shown her a way to continue on living. She'd been so lost at first. The attack had done more than kill her family, destroy the colony, steal hundreds of young, innocent children and force them into slavery. It had destroyed the essence of who she was. The naive girl who had wanted to follow in her father's footsteps in running the family farm.

Sian didn't remember much from that experience, thankfully. Occasionally, she would have nightmares resulting in being torn awake, pulse and breathing rates vacillating wildly, but the actual memories never made it past the opening of her eyes. The first thing she really remembered was being found by the Alliance marines on Mindoir, the ones who rescued her and took her to safety. Mr. Williams had been a part of that ground team, talking her out of the cover she'd been so careful to hide in, away from the batarians who had been chasing her for several days. He'd been the one to convince her that it was safe, that she needed food and water and sleep. He had also been the one to begin the process of arranging for the family to foster Sian Shepard in the years following the attack. At the time, Sian hadn't been aware of much that was going on around her. Lost in a world of pain and a haze of despair, she had simply followed and not questioned anything.

That had come later.

Stepping off the lift, Sian spotted Ashley on the far side of the shuttle bay, hard at work at one of the armory tables. No doubt cleaning and modding weapons to perfection. Sian smiled at that. Hard to argue with such skills. Crossing the bay, Sian approached Ash quietly. "Hey."

"Hey," Ash responded without even glancing in her direction.

Folding her arms across her chest, Sian leaned up against the line of lockers next to the table. "You okay?"

That _did_ cause Ash to turn and look at her, Sian noted. "Now that I know you're okay, yeah. I guess. You had me and Alenko pretty worried there for a while."

Sian chuckled. "I can imagine," she replied. "Sorry about that."

Ash snorted. "Yeah, well … comes with knowing you, I guess, right?"

Sian's smile widened. "You'd probably know that best." Straightening then, Sian took a step closer. "Ash, about what happened down there …."

Ashley apparently had expected her to comment on that. "Not now, Sian," the younger woman managed, hands braced against the table. Sian watched closely as her friend kept her gaze focused on the gun before her. "Maybe … later … I dunno."

Sighing (for Sian knew how stubborn Ash could be at times), Sian closed the distance further, lifting a hand to rest on Ashley's shoulder. Squeezing firmly, she told her, "I'm here, if and when you want to talk about it."

"Thanks."

There were a few minutes of silence between them, but as had occurred many times in the past, they were of the companionable variety. It wasn't until Joker's voice broke through on the comm that the silence was erased. "Commander? We're coming in on the Citadel in about ten."

Sian glanced over at Ash. "Have you ever seen the Citadel on approach?" she asked.

Ash shook her head. "Hell, I've only been there once, and that was way back," she replied.

Sian grinned. "Come on then. Let's get up to the cockpit. This is something you _have_ to see to believe!"

As she led the way to the elevator, Sian realized that the old familiarity was still there. She knew it had the potential to cause problems in the chain of command structure, but at this point she was more concerned about having people she knew and trusted at her back. Alenko had earned that right with his actions on Eden Prime. Ash had earned it years before when her family had taken in a broken down girl and helped her find a way back to life. Fate had a way of dealing blows - some good, some bad - yet in a way that most people who faced them found a way to deal with them. Ash would have her turn, dealing with the deaths of her squad on Eden Prime. Alenko, too. He'd known Jenkins before being assigned to the _Normandy_, after all. And Sian? Time would only tell, but the Lieutenant Commander had a sense that this was all a part of something much larger. One day, she figured she'd look back at these events and realize that it was just the beginning. That they'd ventured into the mouth of hell and survived to tell the tale. But only time would be able to tell that story.


End file.
